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[ad_1] SHANGHAI: China's foreign ministry criticised the United States for suggesting that Beijing was behind the cancellation of sensitive security talks planned for this month, underscoring the severity of trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies. China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement late on Wednesday suggestions made by a US official that China had delayed the talks "completely distorted the facts, had a hidden motive and were extremely irresponsible". A senior US official told Reuters on Sunday that China had cancelled a security meeting with US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis that had been planned for October. "China is extremely dissatisfied with this. The facts are that the United States a few days ago told China it hoped to postpone the second round of the China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue," Hua said. "We request related parties stop this sort of behaviour of making something out of not...

[ad_1] SHANGHAI: China has postponed upcoming security talks with the United States at the request of Washington, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman said on Tuesday, amid rising tensions between the two sides over trade, Taiwan and the South China Sea. Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement posted on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the two sides had initially agreed "in principle" to hold the second round of security talks in October. "The United States has recently expressed its wish to postpone the dialogue," she said, adding that the two sides would continue to "maintain communication" on the talks. She did not elaborate. The meeting of the US China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue , which first took place in Washington last year, was due to be held with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis . A US official confirmed on Sunday that the meeting had been cancelled, though he did not say wh...

[ad_1] BEIJING: The US has accused a Chinese naval ship of conducting "unsafe and unprofessional" manoeuvres when one of its warships entered the waters of the disputed South China Sea . China on Tuesday expressed its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the US warship sailing near the islands and reefs claimed by it in the South China Sea (SCS). "On September 30, without permission of the Chinese government, the US destroyer Decatur entered neighbouring waters of islands and reefs of China's Nansha Islands," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a statement on Tuesday. The Chinese naval ship identified the US vessel, warned and expelled it, Hua said, stressing that China has indisputable sovereignty of the Nansha islands (Spratly Islands) and its adjacent waters. An official US statement described the move by the Chinese destroyer as "unsafe" because it moved within 41 metres of the US warship. US Pacific Fleet deputy s...